Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has signed a contract extension that will keep him in his post until the 2028 European Championship tournament, the German Football Association (DFB) confirmed on Friday.
Nagelsmann, who took over in September 2023, led the Germans to the quarterfinals of Euro 2024 on home soil.
His initial contract ran until the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
A former Bayern Munich coach, Nagelsmann was Germany’s second youngest coach ever when he took over at the age of 36.
“When I came to the DFB in September 2023, I could not have imagined being a national coach beyond the home Euro,” Nagelsmann said in a statement.
“This great feedback that we all receive every day, shows us that our journey together is on the right path. We want to win titles together,” he said.
UEFA has revealed that the United Kingdom and Ireland will be the hosts for the 2028 European Championship, while Italy and Turkey have been designated as the hosts for the 2032 edition of the tournament.
The path to this decision was largely predetermined when UEFA accepted the joint bid from Italy and Turkey for Euro 2032 last week.
Consequently, with Turkey withdrawing from the competition to host Euro 2028, the hosts for both tournaments were effectively determined by European football’s governing body.
With Turkey’s withdrawal from the race for Euro 2028, the only remaining joint bidders for that tournament were England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
However, the final approval for both sets of bids still rested with UEFA’s executive committee, which convened on Tuesday to confirm the selections.
“Nothing is ever a formality, even right until the last minute,” said Debbie Hewitt, chair of the English Football Association (FA). “We took nothing for granted.”
Hewitt said efforts to organise the tournament had united the five soccer associations.
“There’s so many things that you might think might divide, but actually it has really unified,” she said. “I think that will be something that we all feel very proud of.”
Euro 2028 will be the largest major sporting event the U.K. and Ireland have ever jointly staged.
Former Welsh international Gareth Bale, who retired in January, said the tournament would boost soccer in Wales.
“I think it’s important, especially for Wales, to keep on the map, to keep pushing forward, to keep trying and to better ourselves,” he said.
The FA said some 3 million tickets would be available for the tournament, more than at any previous European Championship. Matches will be held in stadiums with an average capacity of 58,000, it added.
The prospect of theUK and Republic of Ireland hosting Euro 2028 appears highly likely following the official withdrawal of the Turkish FA from the bidding process.
Turkey has decided to shift its focus towards co-hosting the tournament with Italy in 2032, and this joint proposal has received UEFA’s approval, as announced in July.
With Turkey no longer competing for the 2028 hosting rights, the UK and Republic of Ireland’s bid is now unopposed.
While Wembley Stadium did host the semi-finals and final of the delayed 2020 European Championship, it’s worth noting that the UK has not hosted an entire major tournament since 1996.
Both bids will require official approval at a meeting of UEFA’s executive committee on Tuesday. An official statement from UEFA read: “The presentations at that meeting will be an important part of the process, which will take due consideration of the content of the bid submissions before reaching a decision.”
Pending approval, Euro 2028 will be jointly hosted by the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The list of proposed stadiums includes well-known venues such as Wembley Stadium and Hampden Park, along with the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
On Wednesday, the UK and Ireland officially bid to host Euro 2028. Among the venues mentioned were the stadiums of Everton, Tottenham, and Newcastle United.
There are ten venues total in the bid: Wembley Stadium, Hampden Park, Principality Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Etihad Stadium, St. James’ Park, Villa Park, Hampden Park, Aviva Stadium, Casement Park, and the new Everton stadium, which is still being built.
While several games were played at Wembley Stadium and Hampden Park during Euro 2020, England also hosted the 1966 World Cup and Euro 96.
England also served as the host nation for the 2022 Women’s Euro, which ended with a victory for the country.
The bid claims the UK and Ireland is: “Committed to delivering a record-breaking tournament with more tickets than ever before to grow a more diverse and inclusive game,” saying there will be almost three million tournament tickets available.
Today, the UK and Ireland final bid to host UEFA EURO 2028 has been submitted.
The bid shows how our nations are collaborating to stage an historic football festival for all of Europe and take the tournament to new heights.#UKIreland2028
